Recuperating in 2021

By all accounts, 2020 was an unprecedented year and the multiple impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic would linger for a long time. Nagaland is no exception and to say that it was a challenging year for those at the helms of affairs and the State's citizens would be an understatement, as they continue to grapple with the most devastating health crisis of the century.

However, as the New Year begins, a sense of hope and optimism prevails with the prospect of vaccination as well as the general populace learning to live and adapt with the extraordinary situation. 

It is imperative, at this juncture, to find and adopt approaches to make 2021 a year of recuperating through holistic and focused policy intervention.

We must collectively face a series of challenges as the State begins to recuperate hereafter. While an exhaustive list is not possible, some pertinent issues needing immediate intervention can be highlighted here.  

At the forefront must be decisive political leadership founded on strong principle and policy geared-up not just to meet immediate political exigency but of farsightedness and collective welfare. 

On the Naga political talks, on the backburner in 2020, the politics of self interest and divisiveness, the cause of alarming polarisation at present, must give way to consensus politics, not based of immediate gratification, but anchored on enduring solution.  

Agriculture, at the start of the pandemic, was often touted as the key sector to revive the State from the adverse economic doldrums. By now, a concrete plan must be in place and it remains to be seen whether the policy makers have definite plans to steer the economy out of the current state of affairs, as a new season starts.

Concurrently, we expect a holistic economic policy and a State budget unlike any other, geared up with workable policies and intervention, not a mere annual statement of expenditure and revenue. 

The health sector, apart from the pressing need to tackle the pandemic, has been sidelined. As things improve on the pandemic front, it is crucial that the State re-focus on other areas of healthcare, including general welfare as well as maternal and child care. The recently release Phase-1 data of National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) must act as an eye-opener for policymakers. 

The future of the education system due to COVID-19, despite innovative measures, has far reaching consequences and requires undivided attention. To reshape and revive the progress made in education in recent years calls for envisioning a well-laid policy and implementing it effectively. In doing so, reducing pre-existing education disparities and increasing accessibility to learning must be the foremost. The lesson learnt during the crisis must be incorporated for the education sector to emerge stronger and more resilient. 

One of the distinguishing features in 2020 was the phenomenon of reverse migration – with familiarisation with a relatively new vocabulary – ‘returnee,’ the coming of thousands of State’s citizen  back from different locations in India due to the pandemic.  Concurrently, the question of giving economic opportunities to those out of job returnees, along with the surging unemployment within the State, demands focused policy intervention. 

As the State recuperates, it is also the duty of the media to be responsible purveyor of information as well as constructive watchdog, not a mere messenger of governmental activities.

The pandemic has demonstrated the source of authentic and responsible information remains critical to tackle any eventualities during an evolving situation. As vaccination and measure to revive the economy begin, it is the foremost duty of the media to promote information credibility and transparency to ensure that the recuperation engender a paradigm shift in governance and policy implementation.